HOW IT BEGAN

Itstarted out with a web cam set up on an owl box in San Marcos, California.

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That web cam got connected to the internet so that its owner, Carlos Royal, could show his relatives what was happening with "Molly and McGee," a pair of barn owls that had taken up residence in his backyard.

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People started noticing this live feed of the inside of an owl box and told others. A LOT of others.

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Chat rooms were started so that the Molly watchers could discuss what they were seeing.

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"Molly and McGee" soon had a clutch of eggs they were tending to, and an internet phenomenon was born.

NBC Nightly News story about Molly & McGee

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When 7 million people tuned in to watch the 24-hour-a-day, up close, inside view of "the way of the owl," the major news networks picked up the story, and "Molly Obsessive Disorder" (MOD) exploded into a worldwide sensation. People who had been chatting on Molly & McGee social sites started getting together in person. There were meetings, day trips, parties and picnics. These small owls and the man who brought them to the internet were responsible for creating a community of like-minded people, people who care about the natural world and all of the fascinating things that inhabit it; People who see that there is a direct connection between education, the outdoors, and art that informs, connects and inspires greater